More than 500 Native American basketball teams from around the world, ranging from elementary to high-school age, competed at the 7th Annual Native American Jr. Nationals in Mesa on June 26-28 at the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa.
Considered the world’s largest all-Indigenous basketball tournament, the event showcased the culture of basketball on reservations across the United States and elsewhere, including nearby Canada and as far as New Zealand.
Maury Sanchez, from the Nisqually Indian Tribe in Washington state, was among the many visitors at the Mesa event supporting young players.
“I’ve got players from all over,” Sanchez said on Friday. “I have a two-time state champ from Alaska, I have some all-stars from Oregon, my nephew from Oklahoma and a kid from South Dakota.”
Sanchez said the event's importance goes beyond what happens on the court.
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The Tuba City Warriors girls basketball team takes the field during Native American Recognition Day as the Arizona Diamondbacks play the Washington Nationals at Chase Field in Phoenix on May 7, 2026.
“I mean basketball is our life,” Sanchez said. “Everybody here is a survivor, from our ancestors to our boarding schools, to the (Indian) wars. This is what’s left. Families that have survived and now we can play ball.”
Jon Yarrow, a tournament organizer, expects the event to keep growing.
“Well, this year we have the Māoris here (from New Zealand),” Yarrow said. “We have native Hawaiians, we have teams from Canada and Alaska, so this tournament is really getting to be worldwide with the Indigenous athletes coming and wanting exposure here.”
Large crowds were raucous and energetic, like those often seen during Arizona's state high school basketball playoff tournaments featuring schools from on or near the Navajo Nation. Fans from those schools are known for their large followings that come to the Phoenix area for the playoffs.
Team Run and Gun poses for a picture at the Native American Jr. Nationals basketball tournament in Mesa on June 26, 2026. The team is based in Scottsdale but includes Native American players from throughout Arizona.
Participants included Keethon and Deceton Demarce, twins who are Standing Rock Sioux and nephews of NBA star Kyrie Irving, playing for the Tribe Hela club team out of Oklahoma. Once their game concluded, fans mobbed the twins, trying to get a selfie or a handshake.
Arizona phenom Layla Curtis, a sophomore who plays for Tuba City High School, was on hand, playing with club team Run and Gun. Curtis led Tuba City to the AIA Copper Division championship last season as a freshman and was named Copper Bracket MVP and girls' Class 3A Player of the Year. She had a stream of fans lining up to take a picture with her or sign an autograph.
“It means so much, but this is our culture on the reservation,” Curtis said. “I know a lot of kids younger than me look up to me so I try to carry myself in a respectful way and just staying confident and keep working.”
That's a sentiment Run and Gun’s coach Ephraim Sloan echoed.
“Layla is a testament to what we call ‘Rez ball,’” Sloan said. “She’s from a small town up north and she has two (Division I college) offers as a sophomore and will only get more. I mean, look at her now, she’s a sophomore, playing at the junior/senior level here.”
Curtis said her game has several inspirations from among NBA and WNBA players.
“Well, I love Kyrie’s handles,” Curtis said. “I also love Paige Bueckers mid-range game and Caitlin Clark’s 3s, so I try to mix those up and format my game to theirs.”
